Chapter 262: Frost Fiend

Erbi Si briskly and cleanly slashed the dagger in her hand across a zombie's neck, smoothly chopping off its head.

Fresh blood splattered onto her cheek, but Erbi Si didn't mind; she simply wiped the stain with her glove and then looked toward the woman a short distance away.

That woman named Xia Nai—what does she know?

Erbi Si's eyes grew deep, her mind full of questions.

She had probed a few times along the way, and the other party seemed not to be completely ignorant of this place.

She called this place — "Ya Se Lie Ke's Ruins."

Unfortunately, no matter how Erbi Si asked, the other refused to give more information, only telling her that this is a half‑plane and to leave it they must find the core that controls it.

"Where exactly are we going?" Erbi Si asked again.

Xia Nai coldly glanced at the fool who had no idea where she had stepped, a hint of mockery flashing in her eyes.

Clearly this is a place everyone avoids, yet these adventurers dare to step inside—truly reckless.

Find the core? That was just something she said offhand; she didn't even know if she still had a chance to get out.

Xia Nai's expression darkened, and she sighed.

If only that dragon were here too. She was only supposed to gather information—why couldn't she resist stepping in?

Xia Nai pulled out the pendant at her throat—a oval gem—opened its base, and revealed a magical image of a family portrait inside.

It was a scene captured by a Mage in a manor: a pair of nobles, one on each side, surrounding a joyfully laughing girl.

That was her most treasured memory.

"Hey, I'm asking you a question—do you even know where we're going?" Erbi Si, seeing the other ignore her, raised her voice.

Xia Nai tucked the pendant away, frowned helplessly, and said, "Let's first check the volcano ahead, there—"

Before she could finish, an excited voice rang from afar, cutting her off: "Erbi Si!! Erbi Si!!!"

The two turned and saw a man in tattered noble robes limping toward them, clutching a short‑handled copper wand and waving.

It was Kai De.

"Kai De?!" Erbi Si was first puzzled, then became equally excited.

Although she and Kai De usually couldn't stand each other, in this unknown danger finding a companion was the most delightful thing.

Kai De huffed up to them, glanced at the wary Xia Nai, then asked Erbi Si, "Where's Chui Li Er? Who is this? Where are we?"

Kai De had too many questions, and blurted them all out at once.

Erbi Si placed a hand on his shoulder and relayed all the information she knew.

"This is a half‑plane? Mi Si Te La is above—does that mean we're finished?!" Kai De's face was desperate. "I told you we shouldn't have come. Now, to save a Mo Lei Nuo, the three of us are all going to die together!"

Erbi Si glared at him irritably, "Shut up! Calm down. We'll find Mo Lei Nuo, and we'll all get out safely!"

Usually Erbi Si's assertiveness would only draw Kai De's mockery, but now her force acted like a stabilizing needle, calming the panicked Kai De.

"So what do we do now? Follow this lady to the volcano?" Kai De ruffled his messy hair, flashed a flirtatious glance at Xia Nai, thinking himself charming.

Xia Nai felt a chill, her face icy, and said, "Do you have a better idea?"

Kai De, stung, went pale, shut his mouth, and joined the pair.

The three fell silent and moved toward the volcano.

Suddenly, a horde of zombies appeared on the horizon.

Erbi Si drew her dagger, annoyed, "Here they come again." Xia Nai's expression grew serious as she looked at the corpses at the volcano's foot, "No, they're no longer the living."

As a Transmutation Mage, her senses were far keener than ordinary people; even from hundreds of meters away she could see the horde's appearance.

The corpses were blackened, coated in frost, their arms sprouting sharp ice spikes.

"Be careful, these are Frost Fiends, a type of Undead," Xia Nai said calmly.

The horde now noticed them and shuffled forward.

"Damn, what kind of thing is this!" Kai De, pale with fear, lifted his wand, ready to cast a spell at the monster that lunged at him.

These Undead called Frost Fiends have bodies frozen so cold that crystal‑like frost covers them.

Their eyes are voids, their touch sends shivers through the body; Kai De felt heat being drawn from his pores just by seeing them.

His body froze; before he could utter an incantation, the corpse before him swung its arms, and the sharp ice spikes flew at him like arrows.

Kai De rolled away quickly, evading the Frost Fiend's attack.

!

Meanwhile, Erbi Si had already plunged into the horde, her dagger wreathed in black flame, darting agilely among the corpses.

But the cold grew stronger, gradually freezing Erbi Si's body; her limbs stiffened and her speed slowed.

Xia Nai, seeing Erbi Si in danger, gritted her teeth; she wanted to conserve a Spell Slot, but the situation was beyond Erbi Si alone.

So she extended her hand and began chanting.

7th-level Transmutation spell — 【Golden Metal Wings】!

"Swish!"—a three‑meter‑long set of metal wings sprouted from Xia Nai's back; she flapped the hard wings powerfully and shot toward the horde like a bullet.

"Get down!" Xia Nai shouted mid‑air.

Erbi Si, seeing this, dropped down instantly; as she lowered her head, Xia Nai's body swooped over her, the delicate, cicada‑wing‑thin Golden Metal Wings slicing through every Frost Fiend in their path.

It wasn't over yet—Xia Nai rose higher, her wings quivered, and metal feathers rained down like blades toward the horde; the crippled Frost Fiends, once their heads were sliced off, fell into utter silence.

Seeing the horde dealt with, Xia Nai exhaled.

Although she spent a 7th-level Spell Slot, eradicating the Undead wasn't a loss.

She still has two 7th-level Spell Slots left today; if more danger arises, she'll have to resort to lower‑level spells.

"This lady is amazing!" Kai De, shocked and envious, looked at Xia Nai. "That's a 7th‑level spell! He might never see anything like it in his life!"

Xia Nai glanced at Kai De and shook her head.

There was a time when she, too, looked up from the well, believing that the senior Mages she met at masked Mage gatherings were the pinnacle she would ever see.

But since she obtained the Throne and since she met that giant dragon, she finally realized that her past self had a far‑narrow outlook.

It's merely a seven Spell Circle spell; even on the battlefield it cannot raise a wave.

Thinking of the world‑shattering spell under that giant dragon's claws, Xia Nai's eyes flashed with a hint of resolve.

Now she has become a disciple of Sai Fa Er, gaining ample resources and knowledge. She is determined to ascend to the mortal pinnacle and push open the door that leads to the mysteries of the universe!

With that in mind, Xia Nai rallied again, looking toward the distant volcanic path: "Let's go quickly; we still need to find an exit. This won't be your destination."

It's not my destination either.

(End of Chapter)